The Palestinian Conflict

Fatah and Hamas reach agreement

A top Palestinian security official said Tuesday that Hamas and Fatah officials had agreed to pull their armed men off the streets of Gaza City after more than a week of rampant street violence.

The two sides also agreed to form a joint operations room with the Fatah-led security forces to respond quickly to any outbreaks of violence, the official said.

The agreement was reached after intense mediation by Egypt, the official said. A tenuous truce signed Sunday broke down within 24 hours, as violence continued on both sides.

Under the current deal, only Palestinian police would be allowed to patrol the streets with weapons, the official said. The withdrawal will begin within hours, he added.

A similar deal was announced earlier this week and lasted a matter of hours. I’ll update when this one collapses.

In related news, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has again called for “…an independent Palestinian state is established in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.”

…Haniyeh said the truce could last as long as 20 years, after an independent Palestinian state is established in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.

During his speech, the Palestinian prime minister also called on the warring Palestinian factions to desist infighting and unite together against Israel.

Who says Hamas refuses to acknowledge Israel… (/snark)

[2006-12-20 9:24 PM] As expected, within hours of the new truce continuing violence has threatened the relative calm in Gaza.

Poll: Arab Public Opinion 2006

Anti-Americanism is rampant in the MENA (full .pdf report).

Attitudes toward the U.S. from those in the Arab world have suffered greatly as a result of American foreign policy in the region, according to an Arab American Institute/Zogby International poll released today.

The results, presented by AAI President James Zogby, show that uncertainty resulting from conflicts in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon have significantly dampened Arab confidence in U.S. leadership and prospects for economic development and political stability.

“Baker and Hamilton had it right,” Zogby said at the press briefing announcing the results. “U.S. policy regarding the Middle East is hurting our ability to lead a coalition in Iraq. Addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would provide us with much needed credibility from the Arab world.”

Mark Marc Lynch kindly crunches the data